Snow sled



Sept. 29, 1964 J. A. GUST 3,150,880

SNOW SLED Filed April 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR.

JIMMY A. GUST A-TTORNEY Sept. 29, 1964 .1. A. GUST 3,150,880

SNOW SLED Filed April 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 z k 54- l3 6 INVENTOR.

I JIMMY A. GUST ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,150,880 SNOW SLED Jimmy A. Gust, 3231 Santa Fe Ave, Long Beach 10, Calif. Filed Apr. 1, 1963, Ser. N0. 269,326 4 Claims. ((11. 280-16) This invention relates to a snow sled upon which the rider lies prone on his stomach, the hands being used to steer the sled as required.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel snow sled in which the forward runner is pivotally mounted and can be steered by the hands of the rider, and where the hand grips are formed as skids or inclosures to protect the hands if the sled should tilt to either side.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel snow sled in Which the legs of the rider are placed one on each side of a vertical fin or brace, to prevent the body of the rider from swinging to either side as the sled accomplishes a turn.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel snow sled in which a pair of side outboard runners are provided which engage the snow in a turn, and to prevent the sled from tipping over with the rider.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawings, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my snow sled.

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the same.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the same.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the same.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 77 of FIGURE 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates a flat plate upon which the rider lies prone when sliding down a hill. A vertical fin 2 extends upwardly from the plate 1, and this fin is capped by a horizontal flange 3, substantially as shown. The purpose of this fin is to enable the rider to place one leg on each side thereof and thus hold the body in position on the horizontal plate or bed 1, and to prevent inertia from swinging the body to either side when the sled turns.

A single runner 4 is a positioned below the plate 1 and is parallel to this plate. A flange 5 connects the runner 4 and the plate 1 so that the parts are thus rigidly connected. Suitable angularly extending braces 6 may also be provided, if desired, to further rigidly attach the runner 4 to the plate 1. A pair of vertical metal side plates 7 may be provided on the side edges of the runner 4, which will dig into the snow and tend to hold the runner 4 in a straight line and to prevent side slipping.

A steering runner 8 is positioned forwardly of the main runner 4, and is positioned in the same horizontal plane as the runner 4. The steering runner 8 is pivotally attached to the front end of the body plate 1 by means of a disk 9 secured to the upper edge of the mounting flange 10. A pivot pin 11 connects the disk 9 and a complementary disk 12 which is secured to the bottom of the plate 1. The steering runner 8 is also provided with metal blades 13 which are secured to the edges thereof, and which extend into the snow to facilitate steering of the sled. A pair of side rails 14-15 are attached to each side edge of the plate 1 to serve as hand holds when lifting the sled, or for other purposes.

Steering of the runner 8 is accomplished by means of a transverse handle bar 16, which is pivotally attached to the bottom of the plate 1 adjacent the forward edge there- 3,150,880 Patented Sept. 29, 1964 of. Hand grips 17-18 are secured to the outer ends of the handle bar 16 and these hand grips are formed as partially inclosed skids or cuffs, the lower surface of which will engage the snow when the sled tilts excessively to either side. Thus the hands of the rider are protected, and also these hand grips will act as stabilizing outriggers to stabilize the sled and prevent excessive tilting or overturning. The forward edges of the hand grips ll7-18 may be curved, as shown at 19, to prevent digging into the snow, and also to provide a rounded surface to better protect the hand of the rider. A pair of links 20-21 extend from the handle bar 16 to the disk 9, to thus rotate this disk and steer the runner 8 as required. Coil springs 22 may be employed to stabilize the handle bar 16 and urge the handle bar to a position where the sled is mov' ing in a straight line.

To further stabilize the sled and to prevent excessive tilting of the plate 1 or overturning of the sled, I provide a pair of outrigger skids or runners 23-24. These outrigger skids are each pivotally attached to outwardly projecting arms 25 and 26 respectively, which are fixedly attached to the plate 1 of the sled substantially as shown. The skids 23 and 24 may be pivotally attached to the arms 25 and 26 by means of an appropriate bolt, if it is found desirable to adjustably mount these skids.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A snow sled comprising a horizontal plate adapted to be occupied by a rider,

a single horizontal runner parallel to said plate and spaced below the plate,

a steering. runner positioned forwardly of said single runner,

means pivotally mounting the steering runner on said plate,

a vertical fin extending upwardly from the top surface of said plate and positioned adjacent the rear of said plate and between the legs of a rider,

and manually operated steering means connected to said steering runner.

2. A snow sled comprising a horizontal plate adapted to be occupied by a rider,

a single horizontal runner parallel to said plate and spaced below the plate,

a steering runner positioned forwardly of said single runner,

means pivotally mounting the steering runner on said plate,

a vertical fin extending upwardly from the top surface of said plate and positioned adjacent the rear of said plate and between the legs of a rider,

manually operated steering means connected to said steering runner,

and hand grips on said steering means including a partly inclosed cuff surrounding the hands of a rider said hand grips being positioned vertically above the steering runner.

3. A snow sled comprising a horizontal plate adapted to be occupied by a rider,

a single horizontal runner parallel to said plate and spaced below the plate,

a steering runner positioned forwardly of said single runner,

means pivotally mounting the steering runner on said plate,

a vertical fin extending upwardly from the top surface of said plate and positioned adjacent the rear of said plate and between the legs of a rider,

manually operated steering means connected to said steering runner,

and an outrigger skid mounted on each side of said plate and spaced therefrom said outrigger skid being 3 positioned vertically above the single horizontal runner.

4. A snow sled comprising a horizontal plate adapted to be occupied by a rider,

a single horizontal runner parallel to said spaced below the plate,

a steering runner positioned forwardly of said single runner,

means pivotally mounting the steering runner on said plate,

a vertical fin extending upwardly from the top surface of said plate and positioned adjacent the rear of said plate and between the legs of a rider,

manually operated steering means connected to said steering runner,

hand grips on said steering means including a partly plate and inclosed cuff surrounding the hands of a rider said hand grips being positioned vertically above the steering runner,

and an outrigger skid mounted on each side of said plate and spaced therefrom said outrigger skid being positioned vertically above the single horizontal runner.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,104,263 Lyons Jan. 4, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 26,443 Finland Feb. 27, 1954 419,363 France Oct. 25, 191Q 

1. A SNOW SLED COMPRISING A HORIZONTAL PLATE ADAPTED TO BE OCCUPIED BY A RIDER, A SINGLE HORIZONTAL RUNNER PARALLEL TO SAID PLATE AND SPACED BELOW THE PLATE, A STEERING RUNNER POSITIONED FORWARDLY OF SAID SINGLE RUNNER, MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTING THE STEERING RUNNER ON SAID PLATE, A VERTICAL FIN EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID PLATE AND POSITIONED ADJACENT THE REAR OF SAID PLATE AND BETWEEN THE LEGS OF A RIDER, AND MANUALLY OPERATED STEERING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID STEERING RUNNER. 